title: Myocardial regeneration: Roles of stem cells and hydrogels.
abstract: Heart failure remains the leading cause of morbidity and mortality. Recently, it was reported that the adult heart has intrinsic regenerative capabilities, prompting a great wave of research into applying cell-based therapies, especially with skeletal myoblasts and bone marrow-derived cells, to regenerate heart tissues. While the mechanism of action for the observed beneficial effects of bone marrow-derived cells remains unclear, new cell candidates are emerging, including embryonic stem (ES) and introduced pluripotent stem (iPS) cells, as well as cardiac stem cells (CSCs) from adult hearts. However, the very low engraftment efficiency and survival of implanted cells prevent cell therapy from turning into a clinical reality. Injectable hydrogel biomaterials based on hydrophilic, biocompatible polymers and peptides have great potential for addressing many of these issues by serving as cell/drug delivery vehicles and as a platform for cardiac tissue engineering. In this review, we will discuss the application of stem cells and hydrogels in myocardial regeneration.
authors.affiliation: The State Key Laboratory of Bioreactor Engineering, East China University of Science and Technology, Shanghai 200237, China.
authors.forename: Zhaoyang
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Ye
authors.forename: Yan
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Zhou
authors.forename: Haibo
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Cai
authors.forename: Wensong
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Tan
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001672:Biocompatible Materials / Q000008:administration & dosage; D002470:Cell Survival; D006333:Heart Failure / Q000473:pathology / Q000628:therapy*; D006801:Humans; D020100:Hydrogels; D009206:Myocardium / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000473:pathology; D011108:Polymers / Q000008:administration & dosage; D012038:Regeneration; D033581:Stem Cell Transplantation / Q000379:methods; D023822:Tissue Engineering / Q000379:methods
chemical_list: D001672:Biocompatible Materials; D020100:Hydrogels; D011108:Polymers